The enemy, as the result of this action, suffered the total loss of the _Blücher_; and two battle cruisers, the _Derfflinger_ and _Seydlitz_, sustained severe injuries, a serious fire or explosion occurring in one of the after turrets of one ship, which put that, or possibly both after turrets, out of action and caused a large number of casualties amongst the crew. It was ascertained at a later date from German prisoners that the condition of one, if not of both ships on return to harbour was very serious; the casualties, as well as the material injury, were heavy. It was stated subsequently that the _Derfflinger_ had 60 killed and 250 wounded, and the _Seydlitz_ about 100 killed. One of our destroyers, the _Meteor_, was damaged in the action, but was towed back to port and repaired. On the 26th the 6th Cruiser Squadron was reconstituted and composed of the _Drake_, _Leviathan_ and _Cumberland_, and a 7th Cruiser Squadron was formed under the command of Rear-Admiral A. W. Waymouth, consisting of the _Minotaur_ (flagship), _Hampshire_ and _Donegal_. The 1st and 6th Cruiser Squadrons were sent to Scapa, and the 2nd and 7th to Cromarty. The _Britannia_, of the 3rd Battle Squadron, grounded in the Firth of Forth in the fog on her way back to Rosyth, was ashore for 36 hours, and suffered considerable damage, necessitating repairs at a dockyard. On the 27th January the 1st Cruiser Squadron and a division of destroyers sailed to cruise in the centre portion of the North Sea and returned on the 30th, being relieved by the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. On January 28th the battle cruisers _Princess Royal_ and _Queen Mary_, with the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, left Rosyth to support operations being carried out in the Heligoland Bight by Commodore Tyrwhitt and Commodore Keyes on January 30th and 31st. Owing to fog the operations could not be carried out, and the force returned to its bases on the 30th. A report of a submarine inside Cromarty Harbour on the 29th caused ships to raise steam preparatory to leaving, and all small craft to search for the submarine, but on investigation it was considered that the report was unreliable. On January 30th enemy submarines appeared in the Irish Sea, one of them opening fire on Walney Island, where the works of Messrs. Vickers, Limited, are situated. At about this date, owing to marked enemy submarine activity in the Irish Sea, the ships of the 10th Cruiser Squadron were directed to coal temporarily at Loch Ewe instead of at Liverpool, and two divisions of Grand Fleet destroyers were detached to the Irish Sea to assist in hunting the submarines. During January the number of drifting German mines in the North Sea was very considerable. Many were sighted and sunk by the Fleet when at sea; the 2nd Cruiser Squadron alone, when on patrol on the 30th and 31st January sinking 12 mines. At the end of January the condition of the Grand Fleet was as follows: BATTLE FLEET _Iron Duke_, Fleet-Flagship, refitting.